Magnetic Lashes Are Finally Coming to Drugstores

Every time you crack open a new tube of mascara, the dream comes alive. In just seconds, it'll be like a real-deal mascara commercial: lashes that reach your brows but somehow still look natural—dark, defined, thick, and lush. Those are the first-tier wants. Ideally those lashes will last until we take them off at the end of the day, without a flake until then. The key word? Ideally. It hasn't been reality—not until now. Because now $14 magnetic lashes are here, and they're going to change everything.

Brief recap of eyelash innovations: Mascara has come through this year especially, with brands across the board bringing their A-game. We saw flutter, we saw length, but each had its weak spots. Drugstore fake lashes are an option, definitely, but the amount of futzing is a turn-off. Add in the constant, lurking fear that they're about to detach and go wonky halfway through the night, and they're a big-night-out-only kind of choice.

Magnetic lashes see the struggle and cut it out of your life. But prior to this point, they've only been available online, where you risk your chances on a safe but expensive choice or a cheap but potentially sketchy pair. Fake-lash brand Ardell is changing that: The incredibly affordable, popular falsie brand is coming out with its own take next month that you can see and buy in person. (Target, CVS, Rite-Aid, Ulta, Walgreens, Sally Beauty, and Wal-Mart are among the retailers that'll carry the line.)

Here's how they work: Instead of the standard falsie application routine ("dip the lash in glue and stick it on with your best attempt at military precision"), you choose the style you're feeling and open up the pack. Each set comes with four lashes, since you wear two strips at once, so we're talking major impact. They're available in accent lashes, thick accents, double demi wispies, double lashes (the closest to standard falsies), and double wispy styles. The strip marked "upper" goes on top of your lashline, in the normal fake eyelash position. The bottom strip—and this is the hardest part, which still isn't very hard—you attach from below your lashes. A magnifying mirror makes it easy to see when the magnets feel the attraction and come together, leaving you with a set of eyelashes you have to see to believe.

They are, no exaggeration, so good. Especially because taking them off is so easy: Put your index finger and thumb together on one of the magnets (there are four to five on each strip, so they're not hard to find), slide horizontally, and they're off. That comes in handy, because as easy as the lashes are once you get the hang of them, there's a bit of a learning curve.

The hardest part is getting the top strip to stay at the base of your lashes while you're putting on the bottom strip. The top creeps up when you blink, so whip your stare out, or look down to keep blinking at a minimum. The main risk is that they'll connect on the middle of your lashes, which means you'll feel the magnets' weight. No harm, no foul—they're so easy to take off, getting them into place only takes about five minutes.

When eyelash extensions took off, we wondered: Could this be it? They were everything good. But between the maintenance, the necessary return visits, and the feeling of seeing your investment fall out lash by lash, they weren't perfect. Cheap, reusable, magnetic lashes, on the other hand? They're our new go-tos. They're a lot for everyday, but once you try them…you're not going to go back.